


Code Lyoko: Punic Wars

by TheLittleLark



Category: Code Lyoko, Code Lyoko Evolution
Genre: Code Lyoko - Freeform, Code Lyoko Evolution - Freeform, Cortex, Gen, Lyoko, Project Carthage - Freeform, Punic Wars, Schaeffer, Supercomputer, Tyron, X.A.N.A
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-30 00:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3915571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLittleLark/pseuds/TheLittleLark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been one month since the end of Evolution. Aelita, with the help of the Lyoko Warriors, is continuing in her attempts to reunite with her mother. However, as Aelita continues to research her past, she discovers secrets about Project Carthage her father never told her. As more and more secrets come to light, the more and more they realize that X.A.N.A may have been the least dangerous enemy they have to face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Code Lyoko: Punic Wars

_Prologue_

_South Carolina, United States of America_

It was midday when Terry White got home from her trip to the store, her blonde hair falling in chunks out of its sloppily done ponytail and her feet sore from a long day of errands. Arms laden with groceries for that evening’s anniversary dinner, she was more than eager to put all the food away and kick her feet up before her husband got home. She looked forward to a few hours of respite before the annual tradition of cooking their anniversary dinner together, considering this had been her first day off of work in a month.

The house was quiet when she got in, the only sound the hum of their air conditioner, which the Whites always kept running all day in the summer months to ward off the thick heat of the Palmetto State. Everything was as she left it. But that didn’t stop the hairs on her neck and arms from standing straight on edge.

She kicked off her shoes, trying to keep her breathing calm. If there truly were someone in her house, the last thing she needed was for the intruder to know she was suspicious. As casually as she could muster, she walked straight into the kitchen, setting down the bundle of groceries on the island. Slowly, she crept over to the silver wear drawer and grabbed a steak knife, whipping around just in time to see a sickeningly familiar face.

He was casually sorting through her mail, green eyes holding a familiar arrogant smirk. He had wild strawberry blond hair, peppered with more than its fair share of grey, and though time had certainly added a good deal of wrinkles to his face, Terry knew exactly who this man was.

“Tyron,” she snorted.

 _“Terry_ ,” he huffed, tossing the mail down. “You had such a beautiful name. I don’t know you bothered to change it.” He spoke to her in German and she returned the favor. 

“I won’t even award that with an answer, Traitor. You know full well why.”

“Yes, but why _Terry_?” when she didn’t answer, he only sighed. Tyron leaned back a little, gesturing to the grocery bags on the counter.  “Are you not going to put those away?”

Terry eyed him for a moment, before slowly picking up one of the bags on the counter. “So, who you’ve got yourself a husband? Samuel White seems like a nice man, _Terry._ Does he know about you?”

“He knows about Terry Faure. Terry Faure who was born in France and immigrated as a university student. The woman he married,” she put the carton of milk in the fridge, slamming the door shut. “Tyron, why are you here?”

“Why else would I seek you out—Elissa?”

Terry stiffened at her real name, a name she had kept buried for over a decade now. “You get out of my house, Tryon. That is my old life. You have no business bringing it back.”

“I’m not trying to bring it back,” Tyron snorted. “I left the Project just like you.” At her raised eyebrow, her rolled his eyes, holding up his hands. “Yes, yes. For different reasons, I know. However, I still left. I got what I wanted from Waldo. I have reached a setback in my supercomputer, however, and I need to focus my energy on that. I have no interest in in my past employment coming back to haunt me. I have a company to run.”

“Well, I sure as hell am not going to help you with your little toy, Tryon, if that’s what you want.”

“Well, you might be interested in helping me when you hear what I have to say,” Tyron pressed.

“You’d have to be pretty persuasive to get me to help the likes of you,” Terry narrowed her eyes.

Tyron only smirked, quirking his mouth into a half-smile. “Anthea would love to see you again.”

Terry froze, an involuntary gasp pushing his way past her lips. “You’d better not be lying, Tryon—”

“She’s my wife now, Elissa. Only married me for access to her husbands work. She thinks I don’t know that, but that matters little. She is back in Switzerland.” He looked a the clock. “Probably still in the lab, working on the Cortex. She’d be delighted at your return.”

Terry faltered a little, a shiver working its way up and down her spine. “The project didn’t—”

“You know Anthea. She’s clever. She managed to get herself free.”

“How—”

“I do her a lot of favors by not asking her about her time as their captive,” Tyron held a hand up. “Do yourself a favor by not thinking about what they are capable of.”

Terry shivered. “So what do you want me for, Tyron? If you’re experiencing bugs, I can look at the schematics and—”

“It’s more than bugs,” Tyron shook his head. “It has a virus.”

“A virus?”

“Waldo’s work. Calls it X.A.N.A. Some school kids found Schaeffer’s computer, let it free. It’s in my Cortex now.”

“Waldo did it then,” Terry shook her head. “He attempted to use the Project’s design against them.”

“Yes. It’s not as dangerous was what the Project wanted. Waldo was always better at creating life. He never would be able to create something as destructive as the Project’s monster. If my computer stays off, X.A.N.A can be contained.”

“Then, why worry? If I recall, your company has infinite resources. Create another computer.”

“Oh, Elissa, I intend to,” he ignored the glare that marred her features every time he said her given name. “But that is not my concern. Yes, X.A.N.A is, in its present state, harmless in a dormant supercomputer. But if someone or _something_ gets ahold of it—”

Terry paled. “They created it.”

“Anthea has connections still,” Tyron said, “some of the agents that helped her escape.”

“I have to make arrangements,” Terry whispered. “Make up a story for Sam.”

“I knew you’d see reason. I fly out tomorrow. It is best if you don’t leave too long after I do,” Tyron nodded, but he wasn’t smirking anymore. “Terry, you know where it’ll go first. I suggest you call that brother-in-law of yours. You’re still on speaking terms, yes?”

“We keep limited communication,” Terry averted her eyes. “I hate to drag him back into it.”

“With him guarding The Fortress,” Tyron snorted. “He was never out of it.”

Terry watched as he left, unable to keep herself from shivering. The groceries, the anniversary dinner, and her aching feet were all forgotten. A pit solidifying in her stomach, she grabbed her phone and let her fingers clumsily dial the familiar number. She pinched the bridge of her nose whispering, “Pick up, pick up” in hopes that the tiny whispered prayer would reach the man eight hours way.

“Hello, Adams residence.”

“Jacob,” Terry breathed out.

“Terry, what happened?” her brother-in-law picked up on the panic in her tone right away.

“Jacob, they did it,” she breathed into the receiver, her throat too tight to barely form her next words. “Dido is rising.”


End file.
